Three areas have been included in the
Central Melbourne 6 Zone, replacing Special
Use Zones. These areas are in Drummond
Street, Carlton; Albert Street and Jolimont.
Office, retail and residential development
which is in keeping with the character of the
area is encouraged. Provisions allow a wide
range of uses for historic buildings in order to
assist their continued maintenance and
effective use.
The Central Melbourne Residential and
Service Zone replaces the Commercial and
Industrial, Light and General Industrial Zones
north of the central business district. The
new zone provides for a mixture of
commercial, industrial and residential uses
which support the functions of Central
Melbourne. In particular, the development
and retention of housing is encouraged.
The Central Melbourne Commercial and
Industrial Zone extends south from the river
Yarra to the F9 (West Gate) Freeway and
replaces the Commercial and industrial Zone.
It provides a mixture of commercial, light
industrial and residential uses to support the
functions of Central Melbourne. The open
character of the river Yarra frontage should
be enhanced. A unique opportunity for high
density housing exists in the vicinity. Detailed
design w h i c h w i l l improve the urban
environment and character of the area is
required.
Portion of theSpecial Use 10 Zone adjacent
to the Domain and Albert Road is renamed
Special Use 10A and is intended to ensure
that the development of the area is of
appropriate scale and character.
4.2
District Centre Zone
The District Centre Zone replaces the
District Business Zone and is used for all
designated suburban centres. The new zone
expresses the intention for district centres to
be more than just business centres.
Provisions for the District Centre Zone are
modified from those for the District Business
Zone. Control of buildings and works has
been replaced by a condition requiring
building layout for certain uses to be to the
satisfaction of the responsible authority. This
removes the need for a permit under the
Metropolitan Scheme for these uses. It is
intended that local development schemes
will provide positive requirements for layout,
parking, landscaping and access without
need for further consent. The objectives for
the zone reflect this intent.
It is intended that the District Centre Zone
will not be delegated to councils until a local
development scheme providing for the
detailed development of each centre has
been certified and approved.
4.3
Office Development
Office development will be encouraged to
locate according to a hierarchy comprising
Central Melbourne, district centres, other
commercial centres and industrial zones.
In the Central Melbourne 1, 2 and 3 Zones
there is no floor area limitation of office
development in Amendment 150. In district
centres and other parts of Central Melbourne
office development having a floor area of up
to 4 0 0 0 square metres can locate without a
planning permit subject to approval of layout
plans. Office development greater than this
floor area requires a permit.
Office development in commercial areas
other than district centres and Central
Melbourne will be limited to a floor area of
2 500 square metres. A permit is required
from the council for office development
having a floor area of between 1 000 and
2 500 square metres in these centres. The
present provisions of the Scheme will
continue to apply to office development
having a floor area of up to 1 000 square
metres.
In industrial zones office development can
establish without a planning permit provided
the office is directly associated w i t h an
industrial operation. W h e r e the office
provides services to industries in the area a
permit will be required. All other office
development is prohibited.
4.4
Residential Zones
In the past. Residential 'A' and 'B' and ' C
Zones reflected varying site densities of flat
development. Various amendments have
removed the essential differences, and
provisions for the three zones are now largely
the same. Residential 'A' and 'B' Zones are
therefore deleted from the Scheme and
replaced with Residential ' C Zone.
Strategic objectives indicate the broad
intent within residential areas. The Board will
further clarity its intent w i t h respect to
particular areas in consultation w i t h each
council and will take account of the combined
emphasis plan in Chapter 5. Where
necessary it w i l l provide a lead by
amendment of the Metropolitan Scheme.
Local detail will generally be reflected in a
local development scheme.
19
 •b

Existing dwelling Existing dwelling Existing dwelling w i t h Existing dwelling w i t h Two new dwellings on
divided into two added to and divided second dwelling a detached second the same allotment
into two attached dwelling

Examples of Dual Occupancy Existing dwelling

4.5 New dwelling

Dual Occupancy
Fence
Building new houses or converting existing
houses to provide t w o dwellings on a single Entrance
lot could satisfy a need in the community for
rental accommodation, for extended family
units and for smaller dwellings. It would also
allow a more intensive use of otherwise
under-used buildings and space.
Single lots of adequate size may be
developed with two self-contained dwellings.
These can take various forms including:
e division of an existing house into t w o
dwellings
• division of a house w i t h building additions
• construction of a new dwelling attached to
a house
• construction of a new detached dwelling
on the same
lot as the existing dwelling
• construction of a pair of attached or
detached
dwellings on a vacant lot.
To ensure that dual occupancy results in a
pleasing and functional layout for both
o c c u p i e r s and n e i g h b o u r s t h e r e are
requirements as to the open area available to
each dwelling, privacy for residents and a
limitation of t w o storeys for any new building.
No planning permit is needed where these
requirements are met but where variations
are necessary a permit can be sought.

20
4.6
Home Business
New electronic technology together with a
general contraction of job opportunity mean
that home based work will continue as an
important aspect of economic activity and
help to meet the demand for part-time work.
A great many work tasks can be done
conveniently and unobtrusively at home. A
more flexible approach to such activity in
residential areas should be possible, provided
it is suitable to the area and will not adversely
affect the neighbourhood.
This work pattern will foster economies in
use of the transport system, particularly by
road vehicles.
4.7
Four N e w Zones in the
Metropolitan Countryside
Amendment 150 to the Metropolitan
Scheme includes certain changes to refine
existing Board policies for the metropolitan
countryside.
These changes include the creation of four
new zones, in which the allowable minimum
new lot size is larger than now applies; they
affect areas mainly to the north and west of
Melbourne. These changes are needed to
discourage subdivision into lots below a size
suited to broad-scale farming. Changes are
also made near Clyde to recognise areas
where soils are suitable for large-scale
market gardening.
The four new zones are:
• General Farming B Zone, w i t h a minimum
lot size of 80 hectares
• Corridor B Zone, with a minimum lot size of
4 0 hectares
• Corridor C Zone, with a minimum lot size of
80 hectares
• Intensive Agricultural B Zone, with a
minimum lot size of 4 0 hectares and
suitable for market gardening.
Among localities affected by the changes
are:
• Merri Corridor and the Corridor west of
Werribee are included in the Corridor C
Zone, minimum lot size 80 hectares
• Point Cook Corridor is included in the
General Farming A Zone, minimum lot size
4 0 hectares
• Sunbury, where the existing Corridor Zone
outside the designated township area is
included in General Farming B Zone,
minimum lot size 8 0 hectares
• Melton and Keilor, between which the
existing Corridor Zone is included in the
General Farming B Zone, minimum lot size
80 hectares
• Whittlesea, around which the existing
Corridor Zone is included in the Corridor B
Zone, minimum lot size 40 hectares.
These changes to General Farming and
Corridor Zones necessitate changes to some
adjoining areas where the remaining large
holdings are also used for broad-scale
farming. These are:
• the existing W o o d s t o c k / W o l lert
Landscape Interest Zone is included in the
General Farming B Zone, minimum lotsize
80 hectares
• north and west of Whittlesea, the existing
Landscape Interest Zone is included in the
General Farming A Zone, minimum lotsize
40 hectares.
Land at Clyde is part of the Intensive
Agriculture B Zone, minimum lot size 40
hectares, which recognises land suitable for
large-scale market gardening. The minimum
lot size here could be reduced to say 30
hectares w h e n an assured source of
irrigation water is available.
As well as these changes to zoning and
m i n i m u m a l l o w a b l e n e w lot s i z e s .
Amendment 1 50 also sets out statements of
specific objectives for all existing and
proposed non-urban zones. For existing
z o n e s , t h e s e o b j e c t i v e s are l a r g e l y
statements of the intent of the zones and
have previously been published in reports by
the Board but not previously written into the
Scheme.
The amendment also updates and clarifies
the criteria to be used in deciding
development applications.
21
 4.8
Changes t o Designation of Roads
The maps that form part of Amendment
1 50 to the Melbourne Metropolitan Planning
Scheme change the designation of a number
of roads.
These changes bring the designations into
line with the way the road system functions.
The changes are limited to existing roads. No
road widenings or new road routes are
included in the maps and no additional
privately-owned land is reserved. The
changes are based on knowledge gained in
the Hierarchy of Roads Study.
The terms 'main' and 'secondary' are
retained for the present. It is intended that
'main' w i l l later be replaced by 'freeway' and
'primary arterial' road classifications in the
Hierarchy of Roads Study, and 'secondary' by
'secondary arterial'. It is not intended that the
Metropolitan Planning Scheme maps should
designate collector roads or local access
streets.
22
4.9
Parking Provisions
Amendment 150 contains major revisions
to car parking clauses. These provide for
parking limitation areas, changes to parking
requirements and designation of the central
business district as a limitation area. They are
made in response to the findings of the
Metropolitan Parking Study.
The Board commissioned reports into
metropolitan parking after criticisms, largely
from councils, that the requirements of the
Metropolitan Planning Scheme were
inadequate and that certain land uses were
omitted from the relevant Scheme clause.
The study by Nicholas ClarkandAssociates
developed a framework w h i c h included two
separate conditions in each of which a
different method of calculating parking
requirements should apply. These are:
• limitation areas, in w h i c h the level of
locally generated traffic is approaching or
exceeds some critical value, or where the
Board wishes to influence the nature and
extent of d e v e l o p m e n t for strategic
reasons
• generation areas, where there is no major
traffic problem caused by parking, and
where the proposed development has
adequate p r o v i s i o n for vehicle
movements.
Wilbur Smith & Associates developed the
requirements to be included in the Scheme
from a combination of field surveys and a
review of studies done by others. Variation in
parking demand revealed by these figures
determined the upper and lower limits
specified in the generation area tables. These
are expanded to include a wider selection of
purposes than previously specified in the
parking provisions of t h e Metropolitan
Planning Scheme.